Den lindleyi, mount indoors?? - Orchid Board

OrchidingMe · #1 03-24-2016, 07:03 PM

Hello All!

I just got THE cutest den lindleyi (aggregatum) today. Its an ebay buy, my first ever auction, and my first dendrobium! Might as well start out with a fussy one first, right?? I am currently housing all my orchids in my teeny tiny kitchen (oddly helps with humidity, just a bit) under a large south facing window. Whats nice is there is a huge tree right outside, so the sun isn't at cooking status, but its still bright. I now this orchid prefers to be in a basket or on a mount, but I am curious if anyone has much experience with this orchid, and can tell me their experience with it?? Is it in a pot or mounted? Basket? I think I'm torn between a mount or basket, and want to know if one is preferred over the other when it comes to easy care. Especially for indoor growth!! Idk why, but there arent many detailed firsthand experiences about having this plant indoors. Also, does it like a little patch of moss on the mount or several patches?? Its so tiny, I don't want to dry it out and kill it because of my poor humidity! Hes too cute! Thanks in advance

gngrhill · #2 03-24-2016, 08:21 PM

I have one in a pot with a bark mix and one in a basket with LECA . The one in the pot is doing nothing. The one in the basket has a new growth started. I have not tried mounted. Hope this helps a little and I'm sure others will chime in.

theloyalplum · #3 03-24-2016, 09:25 PM

I don't think you need to worry about it being too dry. I have one and it grows indoors, and as long as I give it a dip in water everyday it's fine. It's actually blooming right now. If it's on a mount already, then leave it there!

It likes to be abused (sort of). Be sure to water/fertilize it regularly when in growth, but once it cools down just ignore it. I know it's hard, and the bulbs will like terribly dry, but it will pull through! Also, don't water until the spikes are fully set. I watered too early and some of my spikes only have a few flowers.

OrchidingMe · #4 03-25-2016, 02:37 AM

Awesome input! I feel the internet info only gets me so far. I prefer real life application lol im glad to know its not too picky about humidity. One other question: Does watering after the winter rest begin as soon as ANY new growth starts?? Mine came from hawaii, and i figured the plant would have signs of coming out of rest...but now I realize I'm not sure if all growth counts? There's a new pink growth coming in behind the biggest bulb (I might get a pic tomorrow) soo I assumed its done with its rest, if it had one. Thanks again, this makes me feel much more confident that I won't kill it lol

theloyalplum · #5 03-25-2016, 04:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OrchidingMe

Awesome input! I feel the internet info only gets me so far. I prefer real life application lol im glad to know its not too picky about humidity. One other question: Does watering after the winter rest begin as soon as ANY new growth starts?? Mine came from hawaii, and i figured the plant would have signs of coming out of rest...but now I realize I'm not sure if all growth counts? There's a new pink growth coming in behind the biggest bulb (I might get a pic tomorrow) soo I assumed its done with its rest, if it had one. Thanks again, this makes me feel much more confident that I won't kill it lol

I would start watering once new growth emerges, so yes. Hawaii and many other tropical regions are a curious place to grow because some people grow their plants without a rest and they just do fabulously. I try not to go by strict dates and times for my plants and just let the plants tell me when they need a rest or water and so on. If a plant wants to grow, let it grow and with fertilizer!

Full sun if you can. It's a light hog. Mine bloomed off of 1 year old bulbs, so last year's growth will be next spring's blooms, so if your newest matured growths are of size, then you can expect them next year!

OrchidingMe · #6 03-25-2016, 11:20 AM

Haha its ridiculous how some places can break "the rules" like that. I will probably try to ask the seller if the plant had been through a rest, just for my own curiosity. I'm fairly certain it went through at least a somewhat dry period, and probably relied on lots of greenhouse humidity since the bulbs look good but shriveled.

I agree with letting the plant do the "talking". I hope this little guy does some serious growing this year! But with a nickname like "aggravatum"....we'll see!

I just started using a 20-14-13 fertilizer. Its Better-Gro from walmart because there aren't many other places nearby to purchase orchid stuff at reasonable prices. I know a 20-20-20 is probably much better, but do you think the 20-14-13 is alright? Hahaa I know I said one more question already...but is there really such a thing in this hobby? And I thought aquarium plant growing was complicated! HA!

theloyalplum · #7 03-25-2016, 03:11 PM

You can learn a bunch from Ray's website about fertilizing. I think the 20-14-13 would be better, actually, but I'm not an expert! For the record! I use msu fertilizer which is 13-3-15. Orchid care really isn't all that complicated once you have everything setup. It's just a bunch of watering/fertilizing schedules and looking out for problems which aren't all that frequent.

So get your culture right then you can add to the collection without too much to fear or change!

estación seca · #8 04-10-2016, 02:02 AM

I have a teeeeny, tiny one from Olympic Orchids in September 2015. It came in a thimble-sized pot with moss, and the plant was about the size of a large postage stamp. I got brave and mounted it bare on a piece of mesquite branch. I water it every day, and often soak it overnight. It slowly made two tiny new growths over the winter in my warm sunroom. Now it is making lots of tiny new roots like mad, the first since I got it, and it is pushing four new growths. I think yours will take off when it starts making new roots.